Devices for controlling fluid flow in living creatures

ABSTRACT

A device for controlling the flow of fluid in a living creature. The device has an inlet and outlet both of which are mounted fluid-tightly in a body cavity in a position compelling the fluid which is to be controlled to flow into said inlet before reaching the outlet. Between the inlet and outlet there is a control structure which in one position provides for flow of fluid in a given condition through the inlet and the outlet and which in another position prevents the flow of fluid in this given condition through the inlet and outlet. This control structure can provide for fluid flow at all times while chemically treating the fluid to prevent it from having a given condition, or the control structure can in one position cut off the flow of fluid and in another position reestablish the flow of fluid.

United States Patent [1 1 [1 1 3,742,933 Bucalo July '3, 1973 DEVICESFOR CONTROLLING FLUID Primary Examiner-Dalton L. Truluck FLOW IN LIVINGCREATURES Attorney-Haro1d D. Steinberg and Martin Blake [5 7] ABSTRACT Adevice for controlling the flow of fluid in a living creature. Thedevice has an inlet and outlet both of which are mounted fluid-tightlyin a body cavity in a position compelling the fluid which is to becontrolled to flow into said inlet before reaching the outlet. Betweenthe inlet and outlet there is a control structure which in one positionprovides for flow of fluid in a given condition through the inlet andthe outlet and which in another position prevents the flow of fluid inthis given condition through the inlet and outlet. This controlstructure can provide for fluid flow at all times while chemicallytreating the fluid to prevent it from having a given condition, or thecontrol structure can in one position cut off the flow of fluid and inanother position reestablish the flow of fluid.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJULS ms 3. 742.933

INVENTOR.

5 LOUIS BUCALO ,44 M M ATTORNEYS DEVICES FOR CONTROLLING FLUID FLOW INLIVING CREATURES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to devices for controlling the flow of fluid in body cavities.

For example, the present invention relates to devices which are adaptedto be used in a human vas for controlling the flow of fluidtherethrough.

One of the problems encountered in controlling the flow of fluid inliving creatures is that very often changes which are made areirreversible. For example, if, after a vasectomy has been performed, anindividual seeks to again reestablish flow of fluid with viable sperm,it frequently occurs that a return to the original condition of the vasis not possible. Experience has shown that once a vasectomy has beenperformed, it is only possible in substantially less than 50 percent ofthe known cases to reestablish the flow of fluid with viable sperm if anindividual should decide to terminate the sterile condition achievedwith the vasectomy.

As is well known, one of the great problems presently encountered ispopulation control. It has been proposed to bring about populationcontrol by way of vasectomies. However, one of the primary drawbacksencountered with vasectomies is the irreversibility thereof. Once theoperation is performed, an individual cannot be assured that the flow offluid with viable sperm can be reestablished in a reliable manner.

If it were possible to assure an individual that whenever desired thevas could be returned to a condition where it would function in the sameway as before the vasectomy, many more individuals would have thisoperation performed.

A further problem encountered in connection with operations which cutoff the flow of fluid in living crea-' tures is that many individualsfeel that it is unwise to block the flow of fluid in the body, eventhough as a practical matter there is no sound basis for such opinions.This belief that the blocking of the flow of fluid in the body is unwisealso accounts for a lesser number of operations such as vasectomies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly a primary object of thepresent invention to provide devices which will avoid the abovedrawbacks.

Thus, it is a primary'object of the present invention to provide adevice which while capable of preventing the flow of fluid in a givencondition at the same time can readily reestablish the flow of fluid inthe desired condition.

Also it is an object of the present invention to provide a device whichwill not block the flow of fluid but will change the condition thereofin a fully reversible manner so that without blocking the fluid thecondition thereof can be changed from its initial condition and can bereturned to its initial condition, whenever desired.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a devicecapable of operating in such a way that it can cut off the flow of fluidand will at the same time be capable of reliably reestablishing the flowof fluid when desired.

Specifically with respect to a human vas, it is an object of theinvention to provide a device which without stopping the flow of fluidin the vas can in one position reliably reduce the number of livingsperm contained in the fluid and in another position can return thefluid to an extent which minimizes the probability of conception to itsoriginal condition.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention, specifically inthe case of a human vas, to provide a device which can cut off the flowof fluid through the vas while at the same time being capable at anytime of reliably reestablishing the flow of fluid through the vas.

According to the invention the device includes an inlet means and anoutlet means as well as a pair of mounting means for respectivelymounting the inlet means and the outlet means fluid-tightly in a bodycavity. Between the inlet and outlet means is a control means coactingwith the inlet means and outlet means for establishing the flow of fluidin a given condition through the inlet means and outlet means in oneposition of the control means and for preventing flow of fluid in agiven condition through the inlet means and outlet means in anotherposition of the control means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The invention is illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings which form part of this applicationand in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional elevation of a vas with adevice of the invention situated therein;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the device of FIG. 1shown in FIG. 2 in a position where it prevents the flow of fluid in agiven condition;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation showing another position ofthe structure of FIG. 2, the device in the position of FIG. 3 permittingthe flow of fluid in a given condition;

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal partly sectional elevation of anotherembodiment of a device of the invention; and l FIG. 5 is a schematicfragmentary longitudinal partly sectional elevation of a thirdembodiment of a device according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there isillustrated therein, in a schematic manner, a section of a human vas 20.An incision 22 is formed in a part of the vas 20, so that the device 24of the present invention can be situated within the vas in the mannershown in FIG. 1. This device' 24 is in the form of a valve having anelongated tubular inlet means 26 and an elongated tubular outlet means28. This valve may be placed in the illustrated example in a pair ofdifferent positions by rotation of the stem 30 in any suitable way. Itwill be noted that the stem 30 extends to the exterior of the vasthrough the incision 22.

A pair of mounting means are provided for mounting the inlet means 26and the outlet means 28 fluid-tightly within the body cavity formed bythe vas 20 in the example of FIG. 1. This pair of mounting means 32 and34 takes the form of fine gold wire lengths wound around the exterior ofthe tubular inlet and outlet means for promoting the growth of tissue inthe interstices between the tine gold wire so that the tissue growsaround the inlet means and outlet means providing a perfectlyfluid-tight mounting thereof. The gold wire mounting means 32 and 34 caneither take the form of separate lengths of wire or a single continuouslength of wire having the portions 32 and 34, and a part 36 of the wirecan also be wound around the neck of the valve through which the stem 30extends, so that when the incision 22 heals the healing tissue will growalong the wire 36 and will be directed therefrom to the wires 32 and 34for promoting the growth of tissue to provide the fluid-tight mounting.Some of the wire may also extend around the exterior housing 38 of thevalve 24.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, where for the sake of convenience theinlet means 26 and outlet means 28 are shown by themselves only togetherwith the control means which is formed by the valve 24, it will be seenthat within its housing 38 the valve 24 includes a spherical valvemember 40 formed with a pair of passages 42 and 44 extendingtherethrough. The passage 42, which is shown also in FIG. 3, extendsstraight through the ball valve member 40 along a diameter thereof whilethe passage 44 has a substantially V-shaped configuration and extendsaround the passage 42 in a plane perpendicular to the latter. Thepassages 42 and 44 both have opposed open ends, and all of these openends are situated in a common plane which contains the common axis ofthe inlet means 26 and the outlet means 28. These open ends of the pairof passages 42 and 44 are displaced by 90 with respect to each otheraround the axis of the stem 30, so that the stem 30 need only be turnedthrough 90 in order to place the control means 24 either in the positionshown in FIG. 2 or in the posi tion shown in FIG. 3.

The passage 42 is in the form of a simple bore extending straightthrough the ball valve member 40, so that when the control means 24 isin the position of FIG. 3 the fluid will flow freely through the vaswith viable sperm, providing for normal conditions.

The passage 44 is placed in the position of FIG. 2 when it is desired tochange the condition of the fluid so that it will have viable spermtherein to such a small extent that the probability of conception isgreatly minimized, while at the same time permitting the fluid to flowfreely through the vas, so that there is no blockage of the flow offluid. For this purpose the passage 44 contains a material which willreact chemically with the fluid to kill sperm therein. In the exampleillustrated this result is brought about by lining the passage 44 with acoating 46 of copper. It is well known that such a layer of copper towhich the fluid in the vas is exposed will react with the fluid to killsperm therein. For example in the case of intrauterine devices (IUD), itis known that when such devices are made of copper they operate veryeffectively as contraceptives.

Thus, the control means 24 is situated between and operatively connectedwith the inlet means 26 and the outlet means 28 to prevent in theposition of FIG. 2 flow of fluid in a given condition through the bodycavity formed by the vas. In the particular example shown the coppercoating 46 functions to reduce the number of viable sperm in the fluidwhile there is no blockage of the flow of fluid.

On the other hand, whenever it is desired to terminate the spermicidalaction in individuals provided with a device as shown in FIG. 2, it isonly necessary to turn the stem 30 and the ball 40 through 90 into theposition of FIG. 3 so that now the control means 24 will have theposition of FIG. 3 providing for flow of the fluid through the passage42 without affecting the fluid in any way, so that the fluid will againcontain a normal amount of viable sperm.

Although it is possible with the device described above in connectionwith FIGS. l-3 to achieve the desired results without blocking the flowof fluid and without cutting completely through the vas, in the case ofcertain individuals there will not be a confident feeling of absoluteprevention of conception unless the flow is completely blocked, and atthe same time such individuals will hesitate to have vasectomiesperformed because if they should change their mind the vas cannot bereturned to its original functioning with any reliability. In order tosolve this latter problem the devices of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be used.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the vas has been separatedinto the portions 200 and 20b. Thus a vasectomy has been performedcutting completely through the vas. In this case the vas portion 20a inwhich the fluid normally flows toward the right, as viewed in FIG. 4, asindicated by the arrow 48, is provided with an elongated tubular inletmeans 50, while the vas portion 2017 which normally would receive thefluid from the vas portion 20a is provided with an elongated outletmeans 52. The inlet means 50 and the outlet means 52 are both in theform of elongated tubes formed with passages therein which have opposedopen ends. In order to mount the inlet means 50 and the outlet means 52fluid-tightly within the vas portions 20a and 20!; a pair of mountingmeans in the form of lengths of gold wire 54 and 56 are provided. Afterthe vasectomy has been performed, the free ends of the vas portions 20aand 20b will heal, and they heal directly at portions of the fine goldwire 54 and 56 so that as the new tissue grows it is directed by thegold wire lengths 54 and 56 along the exterior of the tubular inletmeans 50 and outlet means 52, thus providing a fluid-tight mounting ofthe inlet means 50 and outlet means 52 in the vas portions 20a and 20b.

The control means 58 of this embodiment includes a valve 60 which may beidentical with the valve-24 except that it has no passage 44 of lining46. This is provided only with a single diametral passage 42, so thatthe stem of the valve 60 can be turned either to open or close thevalve.

In addition the control means 58 includes a coupling 62 connected to thevalve 60 to receive fluid which flows through the inlet means 50 whenthe valve 60 is placed in its open position. The end of the outlet means52 which is directed toward the valve 60 is provided with a coupling 64which may be formed integrally with the outlet means 52, and the valve60 together with the coupling structure 62, 64 forms the control means58 of the embodiment of FIG. 3. The couplings 62 and 64 in theillustrated example take the form of simple tapered components which canbe wedged-together for reliably establishing a secure connection betweenthe valve 60 and the outlet means 52 and which can be simply separated,as indicated in FIG. 4, for uncoupling the outlet means 52 from thevalve 60.

Thus, with this embodiment after the vasectomy has been performed thephysician will introduce the inlet means 50 into the vas portion 20a andthe outlet means 52 into the vas portion 20b. As the vas heals thetissue will grow along the wire portions 54 and 56 for providing thefluid-tight mounting of the inlet means 50 and outlet means 52 in thevas portions 20a and 20b respectively. The valve 60 and coupling 62 arefixed permanently with the inlet means 50 so that they will assume theposition shown in FIG. 4 when the inlet so that an exceedingly reliableprevention of flow of 5 fluid to the vas portion b is achieved. However,whenever it is desired to reestablish the flow, the coupling component62 and 64 can be connected together and then the valve 60 can be placedin an open position, so that in this way an unobstructed flow of fluidfrom the vas portion 20a to the vas portion 20b can be reestablished ina highly reliable manner.

According to the embodiment of the invention which is illustrated inFIG. 5, the vas portions 20a and 20b which are severed from each otheralso respectively have an inlet means 70 and an outlet means 72 situatedtherein. The inlet means 70 has a mounting means in the form of a goldwire 74 and the outlet means 72 has a mounting means in the form of agold wire 76. These lengths of fine gold wire function in a mannerdescribed above to promote the growth of tissue around the elongatedtubular inlet and outlet means for providing a fluid-tight mountingthereof within the vas portions. The inlet means 70 and outlet means 72are in the form of simple elongated tubes formed with interior passageshaving opposed open ends.

The control means 78 of this embodiment includes a pair of couplingmembers 80 and 82. These coupling members may be formed integrally withthe inlet means 70 and outlet means 72, respectively, the couplingmember 80 having an exterior tapered surface adapted to be received atthe interior tapered surface of the coupling 82, forming a wedged secureengagement therewith when the coupling components 80 and 82 areconnected together. The free end of the coupling 80 is internallythreaded to receive a plug 84 which can be readily threaded into thecoupling 80 for closing the latter.

When it is desired to block the flow of fluid so that flow of fluid in acondition having viable sperm therein from the vas portion 20a to thevas portion 20b is prevented, the control means 78 is placed in theposition shown in FIG. 5 where the coupling elements 80 and 82 areuncoupled from each other and the plug 84 is carried by the coupling 80to close the latter and thus prevent fluid from flowing beyond the inletmeans 70.

When it is desired to reestablish the original condition of the vas, itis only necessary to remove the plug 84 and couple elements 80 and 82together, so that a continuous passage will now be formed through theinlet means 70 and outlet means 72, and in this way it is possible toestablish with reliability the initial operating condition of the vas.

It is thus apparent from the above description that with the structureof the invention it becomes possible to select from among the differentembodiments in order to satisfy various individuals. For thoseindividuals who do not wish to block the flow of fluid but still wish topractice contraception with the possibility of reestablishing thepossibility of conception whenever desired, the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3may be used. For those individuals who feel that conception can bereliably prevented only when the flow of fluid is blocked, theembodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 may be used, and in this case also it ispossible whenever desired to reestablish the original operatingcondition of the vas in a highly reliable manner.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for regulating the flow of fluid in the body of a livingcreature, inlet means and outlet means for respectively receiving anddischarging the fluid, a pair of mounting means coacting with said inletmeans and outlet means for respectively mounting said inlet means andoutlet means fluid-tightly in a body cavity with said inlet meanssituated in the path of fluid flow so that the fluid must first flowinto said inlet means before reaching said outlet means, and controlmeans located between and operatively connected to said inlet and outletmeans either for establishing flow of body fluid in a given conditionthrough said inlet and outlet means, in one position of said controlmeans, or for selectively preventing flow of certain components in saidbody fluid in said given condition through said inlet and outlet meansin another position of said control means, said control means providingfor fluid flow through said inlet means and outlet means in both of saidpositions of said control means, and said control means having meansthereinfor coacting with the fluid, when said control means is in saidother position thereof, for changing the condition of the fluid fromsaid given condition thereof.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said means in said controlmeans coacts with the body fluid when said control means is in saidother position thereof for reacting chemically with the body fluid tochange the condition thereof from said given condition.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said control means is a valvesituated between said inlet means and outlet means and having first andsecond valve passages which are separate from each other, said valve insaid one position providing for direct communication between said inletmeans and outlet means through said first valve passage without changingthe condition of the body fluid and said valve in said other position ofsaid control means directing body fluid received from said inlet meansbefore it reaches said outlet means through said second valve passage,the latter containing a material for treating the body fluid.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said material is a layer ofcopper which lines said second valve passage for reacting with the bodyfluid.

1. In a device for regulating the flow of fluid in the body of a livingcreature, inlet means and outlet means for respectively receiving anddischarging the fluid, a pair of mounting means coacting with said inletmeans and outlet means for respectively mounting said inlet means andoutlet means fluid-tightly in a body cavity with said inlet meanssituated in the path of fluid flow so that the fluid must first flowinto said inlet means before reaching said outlet means, and controlmeans located between and operatively connected to said inlet and outletmeans either for establishing flow of body fluid in a given conditionthrough said inlet and outlet means, in one position of said controlmeans, or for selectively preventing flow of certain components in saidbody fluid in said given condition through said inlet and outlet meansin another position of said control means, said control means providingfor fluid flow through said inlet means and outlet means in both of saidpositions of said control means, and said control means having meansthereinfor coacting with the fluid, when said control means is in saidother position thereof, for changing the condition of the fluid fromsaid given condition thereof.
 2. The combination of claim 1 and whereinsaid means in said control means coacts with the body fluid when saidcontrol means is in said other position thereof for reacting chemicallywith the body fluid to change the condition thereof from said givencondition.
 3. The combination of claIm 2 and wherein said control meansis a valve situated between said inlet means and outlet means and havingfirst and second valve passages which are separate from each other, saidvalve in said one position providing for direct communication betweensaid inlet means and outlet means through said first valve passagewithout changing the condition of the body fluid and said valve in saidother position of said control means directing body fluid received fromsaid inlet means before it reaches said outlet means through said secondvalve passage, the latter containing a material for treating the bodyfluid.
 4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said material is alayer of copper which lines said second valve passage for reacting withthe body fluid.